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Founded in 1924 and incorporated in 1925, the German Central Organization was established to serve all people of German descent and was the central meeting place for immigrants of various ethnic groups following both world wars. During the difficult years of the Great Depression, the German Central Organization distributed money to needy German-Americans and helped thousands to find jobs by providing free employment service. Anti-German sentiment during World War II culminated in a vandal attack on the German Central Organization farm in 1942. Despite damage to the property and decreased membership, the German Central Organization rebounded and remains a solid pillar of the community.
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The Rotary Club of Toledo founded the “Toledo Society for Crippled Children” in 1920 to care for and treat children with disabilities, primarily those with polio. After a decade of fundraising and a substantial bequest from Edward Drummond Libbey, the Society opened a convalescent home in 1931 and moved to its own state-of-the-art facility in 1938. As the 1950s Salk vaccine reduced the prevalence of polio and the needs of Toledo’s disabled changed, the Society shifted focus to offer preschool care, adult rehabilitation, and independent living. The Society relocated to the 17-acre Monroe Street Campus in 1980 and adopted the name “The Ability Center of Greater Toledo” in 1990. The Ability Center proudly celebrated 100 years of “service above self” in 2020 and continues to create a disability-friendly Toledo.
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The Union and League of Romanian Societies, Incorporated was formed in 1928 from a unification of two separate fraternal organizations, the Union and the League. The Union, founded on July 4, 1906, was originally organized for the purpose of promoting the general welfare of its members through life insurance policies obtained through individual societies located in the United States and Canada. The societies of the Union and League offer social interaction within their local lodges and through the strength of the larger parent organization. The purpose of the current Union and League is to maintain and encourage Romanian cultural heritage by promoting interest in Romanian ethnic values through cultural activities and to sustain loyalty to the United States and Canada among its respective members.
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Ella Nora Phillips Myers Stewart was one of the first practicing Black women pharmacists in the United States. After she married William Stewart in 1920, the couple settled in Youngstown, then moved to Toledo where they opened Stewart’s Pharmacy in 1922. Having broken professional barriers, Ella Stewart became a tireless civil rights champion. Advocating for Black women she was active in the Enterprise Charity Club and was a 1937 charter member of Beta Lambda and Toledo Alumnae chapters of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority. She served on the National Association of Colored Women Clubs, the Women’s Advisory Committee of U.S. Department of Labor, and Pan-Pacific Southeast Asia Women’s Association. Toledo’s Ella P. Stewart Academy for Girls was named in her honor in 1961. She was inducted into the Ohio Women’s Hall of Fame in 1978.
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The Council of International Programs USA (CIPUSA) promotes international understanding in global communities through professional development and cross-cultural exchange. CIPUSA evolved from the Cleveland International Program, a professional and cultural exchange program for youth leaders and social workers, established by Dr. Henry B. Ollendorff in 1956. By 2003, CIPUSA had grown to include nine affiliate offices nationwide, including two offices in Ohio, the Cleveland International Program and the Columbus International Program. Since its founding, CIPUSA has brought over 10,000 professionals for practical training from 147 countries. As a leader in international exchange CIPUSA continues Ollendorff’s vision–leading people to international training exchange programs in a variety of fields, including social services, business, and education.
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George Bellows (1882-1925) is widely recognized as one of America’s premier artists. His vivid portrayals of modern urban life have become indelible icons of American art. Born and reared in Columbus, he retained close ties here throughout his life. Bellows gained fame while a young artist in New York, becoming a key figure among a group of artists nicknamed the “Ashcan School” because of their preference for commonplace subjects painted in dark colors. Bellows also excelled at printmaking, and it was largely through his efforts that lithography came to be accepted as a fine art in America. Bellow’s career was unexpectedly cut short by his death from complications following an appendectomy at the age of forty-two.
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The Sarah Benedict House is a rare survivor of the once fashionable Upper Prospect neighborhood that included “Millionaires Row” on adjacent Euclid Avenue. Sarah Rathbone Benedict had this Queen Anne-inspired house built in 1883, when she was 68, and lived here until her death in 1902. She was active in the social, religious, and charitable life of Cleveland. Sarah Benedict was the widow of George A. Benedict, editor of the Cleveland Daily Herald. The house was given to the Cleveland Restoration Society by Dr. Maxine Goodman Levin in 1997 and rehabilitated for its headquarters in 1998. It is listed in the National Register of Historic Places and contributes to the locally designated Prospect Avenue Historic District.
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This monument, dedicated July 4, 1894, honors Cuyahoga County men and women, who performed military and patriotic duties during the Civil War (1861-1865). William J. Gleason (1846-1905), army veteran and local businessman, proposed its creation in 1879. Captain Levi Tucker Scofield (1842-1917), Cleveland architect and sculptor, designed the structure and supervised its 19-month construction by contractors, A. McAllister and Andrew Dall. George T. Brewster of Boston and George Wagner of New York, professional artists, assisted Scofield as sculptors. A 12-member Monument Commission, appointed by Governor Joseph B. Foraker in 1888, oversaw the project, which included the removal of William Walcutt’s 1860 marble statue of Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry from the site. The monument’s cost of $280,000 was raised by a countywide property tax levy. An 11-member commission maintains the monument funded by the county. (continued on other side)